Something I never understood...why did Kentucky Fried Chicken change their name to KFC? I heard it had something to do with what they sell is GM and can no longer legally be called "chicken", might be an urban legend though. I never eat the stuff anyway, makes me vomit.

GM chicken is still chicken, and can be labeled as such. I'm not even sure if there is such a thing as GM chicken yet.

They changed the name because people got uncomfortable with food being fried.

My grandmother made the best fried chicken I've ever had. She melted Crisco in a cast iron skillet and fried it. The funny thing was that she didn't eat it herself. When she was a little girl she had a pet chicken that was eaten for dinner. She never ate it after that.

GM chicken is still chicken, and can be labeled as such. I'm not even sure if there is such a thing as GM chicken yet.
They changed the name because people got uncomfortable with food being fried.
Watch this. The good Colonel is charismatic.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk4Eq8IcQMk

Here's another one about KFC I just read, about the supposed eleven herbs and spices secret recipe.

"a food lab found that it consisted solely of sugar, flour, salt, black pepper and monosodium glutamate"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC this is Wikipedia though, so it could be incorrect.

Xilinhot where I am, finally got its very first KFC during the Lunar New Year. A big event, first ever foreign owned non-Chinese brand franchise restaurant in this city....but as I posted previously, I can never eat the stuff.Edited by MikeDT - 2/11/12 at 7:02am

Why Japan is Obsessed with Kentucky Fried Chicken on ChristmasThanks to the successful “Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!” (Kentucky for Christmas!) marketing campaign in 1974, Japan can't get enough KFC on Christmas Day

t’s Christmas Eve in Japan. Little boys and girls pull on their coats, the twinkle of anticipation in their eyes. Keeping the tradition alive, they will trek with their families to feast at … the popular American fast food chain KFC.

Christmas isn’t a national holiday in Japan—only one percent of the Japanese population is estimated to be Christian—yet a bucket of “Christmas Chicken” (the next best thing to turkey—a meat you can’t find anywhere in Japan) is the go-to meal on the big day. And it’s all thanks to the insanely successful “Kurisumasu ni wa kentakkii!” (Kentucky for Christmas!) marketing campaign in 1974.

When a group of foreigners couldn’t find turkey on Christmas day and opted for fried chicken instead, the company saw this as a prime commercial opportunity and launched its first Christmas meal that year: Chicken and wine for 834 2,920 yen($10)—pretty pricey for the mid-seventies. Today the christmas chicken dinner (which now boasts cake and champagne) goes for about 3,336 yen ($40).

And the people come in droves. Many order their boxes of ”finger lickin’” holiday cheer months in advance to avoid the lines—some as long as two hours.

The first KFC Japan opened in Nagoya in 1970 and quickly gained popularity. (There are now over 15,000 KFC outlets in 105 countries and territories around the world.) That same year, at the World Exposition in Osaka, KFC and other American fast food chains like McDonald’s were met with great market testing results and helped jump start the westernized “fast food” movement in Japan. After the big commercial push in ’74, the catchphrase “Christmas=Kentucky” paired with plenty of commercials on TV caught on.

The “Americaness” and simplicity of the message rather than any religious associations with the holiday is what makes it appealing. The Financial Times reports:

“Japan is well known for taking foreign products and ideas and adapting them to suit domestic taste, and Christmas is no exception. A highly commercialised and non-religious affair, lots of money is spent annually on decorations, dinners and gifts. KFC is arguably the biggest contributor, thanks in part to its advertising campaign.

‘One of the reasons the campaign lasted so long is that the message is always the same: at Christmas you eat chicken,’ said Yasuyuki Katagi, executive director at Ogilvy and Mather Japan, the advertising agency.”

These days, KFC records its highest sales volume each year on Christmas eve. Back office staff, presidents and execs come out to help move the lines along. Fried chicken and Christmas have become synonymous: KFC’s advertisements feature major pop cultural figures chomping on drumsticks, the company website even has a countdown until Christmas.

And this year, the company launched a campaign that takes the holiday hype to new heights. From December 1 through February 28 passengers on select trips between Tokyo and eight U.S. and European destinations can enjoy KFC in-flight.

KFC or just ‘Kentucky’ as the Japanese refer to it, has milked this Christmas tradition in the country ever since, and even portrays their founder and well known icon, Colonel Sanders, as the Father of Christmas, dressing statues of him outside every KFC in Santa suits. Colonel Santa!

The custom of eating KFC for Christmas is so popular in Japan that you’ll not only see lines of people snaked outside every branch in the country, but people even reserve their buckets of chicken months in advance just to see it on their dinner tables on Christmas!

Bonus Facts:

The Japanese custom of a KFC Christmas doesn’t come cheap, their Party bucket which is just an 8 piece Chicken bucket (all dark meat pieces), 5 fried chicken breast strips seasoned with soy sauce and garlic, a salad and chocolate cake costs around 3880 Yen, which is around $46
Colonel Sanders is somewhat of a cult figure in Japan. Not only is there a life-sized statue of the Colonel in front of most KFCs in Japan, but his memorabilia, like wind-up toys and figurines, can be found at many toy stores throughout Japan.